Arriving in Nova Scotia more than two years ago, one thing struck me.
Their focus on buying local.
It was not just small businesses trying to get a leg up in the marketing department. It was a government based, locally focused initiative supporting local farmers, artists and performers.
It was advertised on every street corner with big posters; buy local, support local.
It was easy to do. They had this wide access to local markets.
One of my favourite places was the Seaport Market where pretty much everything was locally sourced, locally made, or locally grown. Bringing in the products was “easy” in Nova Scotia terms, with the Antigonish Valley teaming with farm and ranch land; 45 minutes away.
We are a province covered in farms and ranches. I look down the street and see a field that is overflowing with grain in the summer. Drive 20 minutes out of any major city in Saskatchewan, and you hit a grain belt.
And yet a city where the closest farm is 45 minutes away; and trust me, there is no farmable land surrounding Halifax, it’s all pretty much rock and bush, gets an ample supply of vegetables and meat handed to them along Highway 102.
I can understand the differences between Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan but I can also understand the similarities. We are both rather isolated in our relationships with other provinces. Both Nova Scotia and us tend to get skipped over when it comes to bringing in art or music or literature in favour of larger centres like Calgary or Winnipeg. In the case of the maritimes, they usually get overlooked for Montreal, understandably.
Coming from Saskatoon, from a university environment for that matter where there were clubs and groups that focused on promoting local initiatives, it was a shock to see the buy local attitude so pronounced on a provincial scale, while Saskatchewan, the agricultural hub of the country has little in the way of that.
I give props to Sasklandia, a presenter at the SEDA conference this week. They are making the buy local attitude more accessible. They are promoting the buy local movement and proving that it is good for the province.
And why shouldn’t we have more focus on our local products and services people offer.
It is a balancing act; two parts local businesses and two parts people to buy local.
Having this discussion with my husband, yes, it is on the part of the local business to work for what they get. We shouldn’t just buy local solely for the sake of buying local. Local options must be desireable and worth our money.
But is the benefits alone worth our time?
According to the Sasklandia website, buying local circulates money locally, it grows local communities and local businesses are more likely to support local charities and nonprofits.
Based on their figures, 73 cents of every dollar spent on local products stays in the province compared to 43 per cent when buying from national or international chains located in the province.
Is that reason enough to buy local?
We, as consumers, have immense power in our dollar. We decide who we support. Who better than our own community?
